


Hand in Hand

by Kitty514



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Some angst, cisco's powers give him headaches, slight depictions of dermatophagia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2016-10-13
Packaged: 2018-08-22 06:58:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8276893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitty514/pseuds/Kitty514
Summary: It's more than a bad habit for Cisco and it's more than enough to make him realize Harry cares about him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I really should have been working on my other fics but when I finally got around to watching season 2 of The Flash I noticed that Cisco tends to bite his hands quite a bit and it sort of turned into this story?? 
> 
> Just a warning that there are some depictions of skin biting/dermatophagia, though it not too graphic.

When Cisco first started biting his knuckles, it was a small thing. It helped keep his mind off the pain in his head from vibing, even if it was just for a few seconds at a time. Then it became a bit like a bad habit. When he was trying to think through a problem or deal with Harry being up in his workspace, he’d bite. He soon realized that it was more than a bad habit, though, when he found he couldn’t control the compulsion.

Cisco’s knuckles started to look like his own personal warzone- torn skin and bruises littering the tops of his hands. For the most part, he could hide his battered knuckles by keeping them out of sight by crossing his arms or sticking his hands in the pockets of his jacket. It worked in his favor for a couple of weeks, especially since everyone else who worked in STAR Labs was busy with their own problems. 

Up until recently, no one made any comment on the state of his hands, if they had noticed at all. That was, until Harry came along. 

It was late at night- or maybe early in the morning. Cisco found it hard to keep track of time every now and again. Either way, he had fortified himself in the lab at his workstation, tinkering with a new addition to Barry’s suit. 

Cisco was so engrossed in his work, teeth sunk into fragile skin stretching over his knuckles, that he hadn’t heard Harry walk into the room unbeknownst to Cisco. A firm hand gripped Cisco’s shoulder, making him jump out of his seat. He stumbled back a few steps before stabilizing himself. 

“What the hell, Harry?” Cisco half-shouted, his voice raised an octave. “Ever heard of making noise?” 

Harry sniffed and adjusted his glasses. “That concept may have escaped me. Shouldn’t you be asleep right now, Ramon?” 

Cisco crossed his arms over his chest. “Shouldn’t _you_?” 

“Touché.” Harry shifted and glanced down at Cisco’s arms. “But I’m not here to banter with you.” 

Cisco folded his arms tighter against his body. “You’re not? Then what are you here for?” 

“Don’t take this as me trying to be your friend or anything, but I can’t stand seeing you destroy your hands anymore.” 

Cisco’s back went stiff. He tried to play it off by laughing, though it came out forced. “I don’t know-“ 

Harry leveled him with a stare. “You know what I’m talking about.” He held his hands out, palms up, in front of Cisco. 

Cisco stared down at Harry’s hands, offered up like a proposition from the devil. He hesitated for a long moment before uncrossing his arms and laying his hands gingerly on top of Harry’s. He sent up a silent thanks when he didn’t vibe with Harry. Looking down at his maltreated knuckles on exhibit for the one person he barely got along with shook him. 

Harry was surprisingly gently with Cisco, running his thumbs over Cisco’s knuckles with a touch so light it felt like someone was running a feather over his skin. It made a shiver run down Cisco’s spine. He felt more vulnerable than he’d ever been in his entire life. Somehow, Harry had a way of knowing things about him that no one else did. That scared Cisco more than he’d like to admit. 

“When did you start doing this to yourself?” Harry asked quietly, blue eyes piercing as he glanced up at Cisco’s face. 

Cisco shuts his eyes tight for a second before opening them again. He couldn’t believe he was about to confide in Harrison Wells of all people. “I don’t know exactly. But it wasn’t always this bad. I used to have more control over it. It’s just… escalated over the past few weeks.” 

Harry nodded, almost as if to himself. He dropped Cisco’s hands abruptly and turned to walk out of the room, leaving Cisco standing alone and dumbfounded. 

“Uh, Harry?” Cisco called out to the empty room. “Harry? What’s going on?” 

Cisco threw out his arms in a frustrated gesture. “Of course, Harry, let me confess something to you so that you can just walk away without a word. Wow, Harry, you’re such a sensitive and caring person. It totally doesn’t feel like you come from a completely different world. Oh, wait, you do.” 

“I can hear you, Ramon.” Harry yelled from the adjacent room. 

Cisco startled. “What the fuck are you doing in there?” He strode over to the doorway to find Harry rifling through a cabinet, clearly searching for something. 

After a few seconds, Harry pulled out a bottle and threw it at Cisco. Cisco barely managed to catch it, fumbling for a moment before recovering. He looked down at the bottle and furrowed his brow. 

“This is Caitlin’s aloe vera gel.” Cisco said, turning the bottle over in his hands. 

“Observant, aren’t you.” Harry responded monotonously, letting the cabinet door swing shut. 

Cisco rolled his eyes and waited for Harry to explain. 

“You can put it on your skin to help heal it faster. Plus it tastes terrible, so you’ll have less incentive to bite at your knuckles.” 

Cisco blinked up at Harry. “Have you dealt with this sort of thing before?” 

Harry clenched his jaw, clearly not wanting to share something personal. But he did anyway. “I used to bite the skin around my fingernails when I was younger. Still do sometimes. It wasn’t a bad habit. It was more than that. Enough to cause a lot of damage like you’re doing.” 

Cisco stared at Harry silently. He was afraid that if he said anything, he’d scare Harry away. Harry was quiet for a long moment, then he made a clucking noise with his tongue and walked out of the room the same as before. 

There was a certain amount of uncertainty in Cisco as to what he’d just witnessed. He almost felt like he’d dreamt his entire interaction with Harry. Maybe he was delirious from so little sleep. 

Cisco shook his head. His feet carried him to the couch, where he plopped down heavily. He decided to get some sleep while he still had the chance. He stared down at the bottle in his hand for a long time. Finally, he popped the cap and slathered some of the aloe vera on his knuckles, wincing slightly when he was a little too rough with his skin. He crinkled his nose against the acrylic-paint-like smell when it assaulted his senses. 

The silence in the lab registered with Cisco, though it was comfortable for him. He’d learned early on that he tended to sleep better in the lab than he did in his own apartment at times. Cisco would only need to take off his jacket and ball it up for a pillow so that he could curl up comfortably on the couch. He did this now, sighing into the fabric of his jacket. His eyes slowly slipped closed, sleep pulling him under. 

*** 

“Ramon. Ramon, wake up.” 

Cisco snorted loudly when he woke up. He rolled off the couch immediately and staggered to his feet groggily. 

“What?” Cisco asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “What’s happening?” 

“Nothing.” Harry replied. “You were snoring and I couldn’t stand the noise anymore.” 

Cisco dropped his hands from his face and glared at Harry. 

Harry shrugged and started to head back to his- really, Cisco’s- workstation, but paused halfway there. “Did you use the aloe vera?” He asked, turning to face Cisco. 

Cisco sniffed his hands and crinkled his nose. “Yeah. It smells terrible. I’m almost convinced you told me to do this just to spite me.” 

Harry scoffed. “I’m not that petty.” 

Cisco shoved past him playfully to sit at his workstation. “If you say so.” 

Harry made a small noise before returning to his chair a few feet away from Cisco. The two of them worked in relative quiet for an hour or so before Cisco ran into a roadblock with his newest invention. He subconsciously bit down on his knuckles before gagging when the taste of the gel lingering on his skin reached his tongue. 

Harry glanced over at him. 

Cisco grinned queasily. “This stuff couldn’t taste worse. There’s definitely some spite going on.” 

Harry shook his head and answered him softly. “It’s not like that. I just want to help.” 

There wasn’t a quick response that Cisco could think of to that. He had to have misheard Harry. Or maybe he was vibing right now and he was experiencing a different timeline. 

“You’re not vibing.” Harry said. 

Had Cisco said some of that out loud? It was possible. 

“Um, thanks. For caring.” Cisco said. He curled his hands into fists on top of the table, frowning at the tug he felt on his skin. “You seem to notice a lot of things about me that other people don’t.” 

This time, it was Harry’s turn to not respond immediately. He focused on twisting two pieces of wire together for a while before speaking. 

“I’m only trying to look out for you. You have so much more potential and power than you give yourself credit for. You let your anxiety and worry get in the way of that, though, and I don’t want that to overtake you.” Harry frowned as if he’d said too much. 

“So. You actually do care about me.” 

“If you tell anyone what I said-“ 

Cisco raised his hands in a placating manner. “My lips are sealed. Except around you. I’m holding what you said above your head for a _long_ time. It’s not every day that I get to hear Harry Wells be a big sap.” 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Don’t push your luck, Ramon.” 

Cisco laughed, and this time it was real, not forced. “You’re not such a bad man, Harry.” 

Harry stared at Cisco briefly, then turned back to his work without another word. Cisco smiled in his direction. 

*** 

If Cisco had ever been asked what it felt like when he came out of a vibe, he’d say it was like someone had taken his college engineering textbook and hit him over the head with it, but instead of being knocked out, he’d only been woken up even more. Every light, every sound was amplified tenfold. 

Cisco was feeling this right now after vibing about a nearby metahuman. The second he’d let the location roll off his tongue, Barry was flashing out the door and everyone else was rushing about, trying to guide Barry on what to do. Cisco was frozen in place for a long moment, breathing slowly through his nose. He managed to collect himself enough to help Barry out, powering through his headache. 

At some point after Barry had taken care of the metahuman, Caitlin had grabbed his arm and steered him out of the cortex and onto the couch in his dimly lit workspace. Then she’d disappeared, back to work. 

Not that Cisco would ever complain, but sometimes he wished that someone would come keep him company while he curled up on the couch. But he knew that helping Barry out and finishing work was more important. They were trying to keep Central City safe, after all. Cisco shut his eyes, willing away his headache. He’d learned early on that normal painkillers didn’t do much good for him, which made things a bit worse. 

“Ramon, you’re biting.” 

Okay, when he said ‘someone’ earlier he wasn’t really thinking about Harry, but he’ll take it. 

Harry grabbed Cisco’s left wrist lightly and moved it away from his mouth. Then he dragged Cisco up into a sitting position. Cisco groaned and squinted against the dull light at Harry. He was surprised when Harry handed him a glass of water. 

“What’s your plan here?” Cisco asked as he took the glass from Harry. 

“My ‘plan’?” Harry gestured for Cisco to hold out a hand. 

Cisco offered his left hand up and took a sip of water. “You’re being nice to me, and it’s kind of weirding me out. You- oh, do you really have to do that?” 

Harry glanced up at Cisco while he applied aloe vera to Cisco’s knuckles. “Yes, I do.” 

Cisco watched Harry’s hands move over his hand, mesmerized for a moment. “You didn’t answer my other question.” He switched his left hand for his right when Harry signaled for it. 

“I don’t have any plan. Like I said before, I’m just looking out for you. All of us on Team Flash need you here and healthy, mentally and physically.” Harry paused and squeezed Cisco’s hand, avoiding the bruised skin, before letting go. “I should get back to the cortex.” 

“Alright.” Cisco responded quietly, not quite wanting him to leave yet for some reason. “Thank you, Harry.” 

Harry seemed to hesitate before speaking. “It’s no problem, Cisco. Get some rest.” Then he was gone from the room quickly. 

Cisco sighed and put his glass of water on the ground before he laid back down. He brought his hand up to his mouth and bit before grimacing at the taste. He briefly thought about cursing Harry before realizing he didn’t really want to. 

“No, Cisco.” He whispered to himself. “Don’t you dare start liking that man. Your judgment is clouded right now, that’s all.” 

Another sigh escaped Cisco as he buried his head under his arms, trying to block out extraneous lights and sounds. After everything that went down with the original Harrison Wells, he thought it would be so easy to hate the Earth-2 Harry. Especially since Harry had seemed like a huge dick at first. But now, Cisco couldn’t be so sure. Harry was kinder than anyone on the team had given him credit for, but that just might be because Harry put walls up around himself and distanced himself from people. 

Cisco didn’t know why Harry decided that now would be a good time to start being nicer to him. The two of them had been working side-by-side in the lab for weeks now. In the beginning, Cisco thought it’d be easier to throw Harry back through the breach than continue existing in the same space as him. As time went on, Cisco had learned that Harry was fuller of bark than bite; he meant no real harm towards Cisco. 

And to tell the truth, Cisco may have grown slightly attached to Harry. 

“Again, Cisco, don’t you dare.” Cisco whispered. “That’s so not a good idea. Just because he’s being nice to you and he’s attractive doesn’t mean anything.” He attempted to bite his knuckles again and grimaced again. He closed his eyes tight and hoped the pain in his head went away soon. 

*** 

It almost became like a routine between Cisco and Harry: Cisco would vibe, end up crashing on the couch, and Harry would keep him company for some of the time Cisco was unable to get himself to move. A majority of the time, there were never any words uttered. Harry would just pull up a stool to the nearest table and tinker with the latest invention or he’d work at the whiteboard. 

Cisco would deny it if someone said he must like having Harry around. But it was good to know that he wouldn’t be alone when he was in pain. To know that someone would be by his side. It wasn’t as if his headaches ever got too terrible, but some days… some days Cisco really wished that he didn’t have powers. 

Today was one of those days. 

Cisco wasn’t even entirely sure what made him vibe. One moment he was working out a scheme on the whiteboard, the next he was face-to-face with a new metahuman in her hideout. It wasn’t any special vibe, but it still sent him over the edge. Pain blossomed in his head, worse than it’d been the past few times he’d vibed. 

Cisco managed to utter out the information the team needed to Harry before collapsing to the ground, his vision swimming. He vaguely registered Harry trotting out of the room. He had no idea how much time passed before Harry came back. Harry helped Cisco back up to his feet and Cisco gripped Harry’s shoulder harder than he probably should have. 

Harry didn’t mention it if Cisco was hurting him, only led him to a nearby chair. Cisco sat down in it. He flinched when Harry placed a tissue to his nose suddenly. 

Harry pulled his hand back immediately. “Your nose is bleeding. I’m only trying to stop it.” 

“Right. Of course.” Cisco grabbed Harry’s hand lightly and placed it back where it had been. 

Harry inhaled sharply. He visibly stiffened, his hand frozen in place under Cisco’s. Cisco moved his own hand to hold the tissue in place himself. Harry let his hand drop to his side. 

Cisco opened his mouth to say something but stopped short when Harry moved, lifting up his hand again to push hair out of Cisco’s face. It wasn’t a quick movement. Harry slowly ran his fingers through Cisco’s hair and let his hand rest against Cisco’s cheek. Cisco moved into the touch, some of the tension in his body dissipating. 

“Hey, guys, have either of you-“ Barry cut himself off when he stepped into the room and took in the scene before him. “Oh, my god, are you two together? That would make _so_ much sense now that I think about it.” 

“What? No. No!” Cisco stuttered as Harry snatched his hand back to himself. “It’s not like that at all. Harry was just helping me.” He gestured with his free hand to the tissue he was holding. 

Barry nodded but didn’t look too convinced. “If you say so. I came by to see if either of you know where I put my phone. I could’ve sworn it was in my pocket but I guess it disappeared when I went searching for the metahuman.” 

Harry and Cisco exchanged awkward glances to see if either of them knew the location, then both shook their heads. 

“Alrighty then.” Barry said. “I’m gonna, you know, give you two some privacy. I hope you feel better, Cisco.” He spun around on his heel and practically ran out of the room. 

Harry took two steps back from Cisco. “I should get back to work. Keep resting if you need to.” 

“Yeah.” Cisco said softly. He watched as Harry stationed himself at the opposite end of the room. He stuck his knuckles in his mouth, biting down. 

“The aloe vera’s in the cabinet.” Harry said without turning around. 

“How does he know?” Cisco mouthed to himself. 

*** 

“Cisco, I need the designs for the gun you were working on.” Harry leaned back in his chair to look at Cisco around Barry. “We can use it to help Barry stop the newest metahuman.” 

Cisco nodded, getting up from his chair in front of the computer to wander to his workspace. Caitlin and Barry swiftly fell into step on either side of him. 

“Since when did Harry stop calling you ‘Ramon” and start calling you by your first name?” Caitlin asked, taking a drink out of the coffee cup in her hands. 

“Yeah, Cisco, when did he start doing that?” Barry asked cheekily, failing at playing innocent. “It’s almost as if you two have gotten closer somehow.” 

Cisco glared at Barry. “I’m not talking about this right now. We’ve got work to do that’s more important than dissecting my platonic- note the keyword ‘platonic’- relationship with Harry.” 

“You two _have_ been spending an awful lot of time together.” Caitlin chimed in. 

“Yeah, platonically.” Cisco replied. “Because we work together.” 

“You and Harry were looking like more than coworkers when I walked in on the two of you a couple days ago.” Barry said. 

“Wait, ‘walked in on’?” Caitlin asked. “What exactly did you walk in on?” 

“Oh, nothing special. Just Harry ‘platonically’ stroking Cisco’s hair and holding his face. Platonically, of course.” Barry grinned at Cisco. 

“Ha ha. Very funny, Barry.” Cisco started to adjust his hair but thought better of it. “Like I said, he was helping me after I vibed. I got a nosebleed and he was trying to stop it.” 

Caitlin hummed. “He’s never been that nice to any of us. Remember when Barry came back bleeding all over the place a couple days ago and Harry didn’t even blink an eye?” 

Barry made a noise of agreement. “He told me to go put a band-aid on my wound, then went straight back to working on the computer. It was like I barely even existed to him.” 

Cisco sighed and rubbed at his neck. He could faintly smell the aloe vera on his hands. “I don’t know, guys. He’s… Harry. His behavior could mean anything.” 

Caitlin rubbed his back gently. “Give it some time and see where your ‘platonic’ relationship goes.” She smiled at him jokingly. 

Cisco groaned. “Not you, too, Caitlin.” 

Barry laughed and gave Cisco a playful shove before splitting off from Cisco with Caitlin when they had reached Cisco’s workspace. Cisco watched them go, thankful to have friends like them in his life, even if they did tease him. 

*** 

It was difficult for Cisco to concentrate after that. He had never realized how much he and Harry touched one another. He would’ve thought he’d be more careful about that with his powers being the way they were. But it had become such a natural part of their relationship that it didn’t make sense for Cisco to stop. 

He also found himself staring at Harry more often than he should. He hoped that Harry didn’t notice too much or brushed it off as Cisco being curious about him instead of Cisco having a developing crush on him. 

The days at the lab got longer and the time spent with Harry accumulated. They had been around each other enough that their movements around one another became like a well-choreographed dance. They knew each other’s thoughts and could determine what the other wanted before anything was said. The two of them had received raised eyebrows from Jesse, and a lot of silly grins and a few thumbs up from Barry and Caitlin. Hopefully Harry hadn’t noticed any of those either. 

*** 

The vibe shouldn’t have affected Cisco much, really. It wasn’t a big deal when it happened, just a simple vision. But Cisco could really _feel_ it this time around. At first, while he looked around at his surroundings, a desolate building filled with furnaces for metal-working, the humidity struck him but he didn’t think anything of it. Maybe the lab had more moisture in the air than he’d recognized. Then he realized, as the heat set in, that he wasn’t feeling the air in the lab but in the building he was vibing. 

“Uh, Harry, this is kind of weird.” Cisco muttered, dimly aware of Harry’s presence beside him. 

“What do you mean?” Harry’s voice was much softer through the vibe. 

“It’s hot. Like, really hot. Almost as if I’m standing near a… fire.” Cisco turned around and realized that he’d been right about the fire. There was one burning in the furnace behind him. “I think our metahuman feeds on high temperatures. If we can get- oh, shit!” 

Cisco stumbled back in surprise when the fire in the furnace grew much bigger all of a sudden. A sharp pain spread and he soon felt like he was engulfed in fire. He ripped his goggles off and threw them across the floor, doubling over in pain. 

“Cisco, what’s wrong?” Harry rushed to catch him from falling over, concern lacing his voice. 

“Oh, god, it’s so hot. I can’t- I can’t.” Cisco grit his teeth. He felt like he was standing in the middle of the fire. It was almost impossible for him to organize his thoughts. “Uh, um, shower. Cold. P-please. Shit.” 

Harry didn’t say anything, only placed Cisco’s arm over his shoulders and led him down the hallway as quickly as possible, towards the bathroom where there were locker room showers set up. Cisco heard a sharp squeak. And then relief as cold water hit his exposed skin and soaked through his clothes. His legs decided it was a good time to give out, and he pulled Harry down with him when his knees buckled. 

Harry let Cisco lean against his chest and bury his face in the crook of Harry’s shoulder. Harry awkwardly patted Cisco on the back before switching to wrapping his arms around Cisco. 

“You’re getting all wet.” Cisco mumbled against Harry’s neck. 

“It’s fine. I wasn’t about to let you go.” Harry said quietly. “We should find out what happened. You’ve never vibed like that before. I don’t want you to get seriously injured because of it.” 

“Harry?” 

“Yes.” 

“Thank you.” Cisco let his breathing even out to the rhythm of Harry’s lungs, feeling drained of all energy. There was still lingering pain crawling along his skin like a mild burn, but it wasn’t anything like before. 

“It’s no problem.” Harry finally responded, shivering under the cold water. He gripped Cisco tighter, resting his cheek on the top of Cisco’s head. 

Cisco didn’t know how long they stayed like that; his mind wasn’t really functioning properly. But after the twentieth time he got a mouthful of his own wet hair in a row, he decided it’d probably be good to move. He was certain Harry would stay there with him for as long as needed, but Cisco wasn’t about to risk letting Harry get hypothermia under the freezing water. 

They both untangled themselves from one another, and Cisco stood up slowly on weak legs. He heard Harry turn the water off. When he looked up, pushing wet hair out of his face, Harry was staring at him with something almost like tenderness in his eyes. Cisco froze, unsure of what he should do next. 

The distinct buzzing of Cisco’s phone unfroze him. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket, thankful that he’d invested in a waterproof case in case of a situation- well, not like this, honestly. 

Caitlin’s name was on the display. He answered her call and she informed him that Barry had ruined his suit once again and that they’d need the back-up one. Cisco sighed inwardly. One of these days, Cisco was going to hand him a red t-shirt and tell him to go run around in that. 

Cisco hung up and noticed that Harry was nowhere in sight. “Right. Of course.” He said to himself. “Should’ve expected him to disappear.” 

He trotted back down the hallway on wobbly legs to grab Barry’s extra suit. Cisco didn’t see Harry as he grabbed the suit and made his way to the cortex. If anyone wanted to comment on Cisco being drenched in water, they didn’t. He only got concerned and confused looks as he shoved the suit into Barry’s arms and promptly left the cortex. 

*** 

“What the hell did you just put in front of me?” 

Cisco shoved the pizza box further towards Harry. “It’s pizza, Harry. Never had it on Earth-2?” 

“I know what pizza is, Cisco.” Harry hesitated before picking a slice out of the box. 

Cisco grinned at him. “It’s got pepperoni, sausage, fries, and mozzarella sticks on it.” 

Harry frowned briefly at the slice. “Are you trying to give yourself a heart attack?” 

“At least try it before you start making snarky comments.” Cisco pulled the pizza box back to himself to take a slice. He sunk back into the familiar comfort of his own couch, across from Harry who’d stationed himself on the floor in front of the coffee table. He had barely been in his apartment for more than a couple hours at time recently. The apartment may have been on the smaller side, but it was still neat and cozy, not something that Cisco got to experience all the time. It was nice to be able to be here for longer than that, even if he didn’t always sleep well here. 

And the fact that Harry was here, well, that was honestly a bit odd for Cisco. Though, to be fair, Cisco had been the one to invite Harry over. It had been a few days since the fire-vibe incident and things were finally settling down between them. Harry had showed back up the day after, not-so-subtly avoiding any interaction with Cisco. But then there were less awkward glances and stiff greetings, and more normality over time. Harry seemed to be at the lab even more than Cisco nowadays, and Cisco thought it would be nice for Harry to get out for a little while. Granted, they were still working on lab projects, but a couch was much kinder on the back than a stool. 

Cisco grinned as Harry took his first bite of the pizza. He could tell that Harry was attempting to keep his expression under wraps, but there a hint of a smile on his lips nonetheless. 

“It’s… not bad.” Harry said when he’d swallowed the bite. 

“Ah-ha! On the Harry Scale, that means it’s amazing.” Cisco took his own bite, holding back laughter when Harry rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever you want to tell yourself, Cisco.” 

Two hours, one-and-a-half projects, and one empty pizza box later, Cisco was exhausted. He was a night owl naturally, but all the time spent in the lab was taking its toll. He tried, and failed, to stifle a yawn. 

“If you want, I can leave.” Harry offered. He had his own tired look plastered on his face. His hair, almost perfect two hours ago, was now ruffled and messy. His black shirt, usually so crisp and in-place, was rumpled and riding up enough to expose a small strip of his stomach. 

And goddamn it if Cisco didn’t find that extremely attractive. 

“I, uh, I mean, that’s-“ Cisco was at a loss for words with Harry looking like that right in front of him. 

“I’ll help clean up, then I’ll be on my way.” Harry grabbed the pizza box and headed for the kitchen. 

Cisco got up and followed him. “You don’t have to do that, Harry. I can clean up. And you don’t _have_ to leave. You can sleep with me. I mean, sleep here. Where I live. Not _with me_. That would be, ha, so inappropriate for me to proposition. Please tell me to shut up anytime now.” His face must have been bright red. He went to go bite his knuckle, tasted the aloe vera, and made a distressed sound before stuffing his hands in his pockets. 

Harry stared at Cisco, the pizza box still in his hands. 

“Or please just say something. Anything. I didn’t mean to be weird.” Cisco said. 

“No, it’s… You really want me to stay?” Harry finally moved, placing the box in the trash and turning back to face Cisco. He looked uncertain, which Cisco realized he’d never seen with Harry. 

“Yeah. It’d be nice.” 

Harry nodded hesitantly. “Okay. I’ll stay.” 

Cisco smiled, anxiety flooding out of him. “I can go find some blankets and pillows.” 

They both moved, attempting to side-step each other, but ended up face-to-face instead, their bodies touching. The two of them uttered an apology, tried again, and ended up in the same position. Cisco started to take a step back until Harry caught his wrist and dragged him back. 

“I don’t think that this is how we’re going to get out of each other’s way.” Cisco said, struggling to keep his wits about him. Except that was hard when Harry’s face was inches from his, his breath warm on Cisco’s cheek. Harry’s body pressed up against his wasn’t helping either. 

“Tell me I’m reading this wrong and I’ll back off.” Harry said, voice low and rough. 

Cisco shivered. He worked words around in his dry mouth until they finally came out. “You’re not reading this wrong.” 

“Good.” Harry replied. 

Cisco had about two seconds to brace himself before Harry leaned in and kissed him. It was a chaste, gentle kiss, but Cisco felt it with every fiber of his being. A part of him was terrified that he’d vibe, while another part was euphoric with the knowledge that Harry was kissing him. 

Cisco closed his eyes and deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around Harry’s waist and pulling him in closer. Harry sighed contentedly into the kiss and buried his hands in Cisco’s hair, pulling lightly. Cisco’s whole body felt like it was on fire, except this time it wasn’t in the bad way. He didn’t know it was possible to feel so good while kissing someone. 

Harry eventually pulled back for air, but kept his fingers entangled in Cisco’s hair. Cisco moved his hands to grip Harry’s. 

“Are you still sure you want me to stay?” Harry asked, panting slightly. 

“You know what? I change my mind. I totally think you should leave, especially after we just kissed so intensely.” Cisco grinned. “No, of course I want you to stay.” 

Harry huffed a laugh and ducked his head to steal a small kiss. “Not funny.” 

“I personally think I’m hilarious.” Cisco squeezed Harry’s hands. “I also think that I could use some sleep. If you want to join me…” 

“As long as we’re actually sleeping.” Harry replied. “I think I’m only able to stay awake for about ten more minutes.” 

“God, yes. I feel like I’m about to fall over from exhaustion.” 

“Then lead the way.” 

*** 

When Cisco was younger, he always thought it’d be pleasant to wake up with the sun, the light slowly filtering into the room through a window. But when he moved into this apartment he soon learned that he found it more annoying. Had it made him go out and buy blinds for his bedroom window? Sadly, no, he’d never got around to it. 

However, waking up with Harry holding him- now, _that_ Cisco found more than pleasant. Harry was softer and warmer than Cisco expected him to be. They’d stripped down to just t-shirts and underwear before falling into bed together last night. Neither of them expected anything more than just to sleep, which made any tension disappear. He hadn’t fallen asleep that fast or slept so soundly in a long time. It made him want to call in late for work just so he could lay there a little longer. 

Harry shifted against Cisco. “What time is it?” He slurred in his sleepy state. 

Cisco reluctantly unhooked Harry’s arms from around him so that he could reach his phone on the nightstand. “Eight-thirty. Far too early, in my opinion.” 

Harry rubbed at his eyes- which was way more adorable than Cisco had been prepared for- and sat up. Cisco could see him trying to work something out in his head. Then Harry sighed, pulled Cisco back down, and wrapped his arms around Cisco once more. 

Cisco couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Didn’t take you for the cuddly type.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” Harry mumbled into Cisco’s hair. He grabbed one of Cisco’s hands and brought it up so that he could place a gentle kiss along Cisco’s knuckles, which he noticed were finally beginning to heal in places even though there were still newer, fresher marks scattered along his knuckles. 

Cisco watched in fascination, overwhelmed with emotion at the small action. He moved his hand away so that he could kiss Harry gently. 

“You have morning breath.” Harry muttered against Cisco’s lips. 

“So do you, you jerk.” 

Cisco felt Harry smile into the kiss briefly. Harry grabbed the hem of Cisco’s shirt, which had already been riding up, and lifted it to expose the soft skin of Cisco’s stomach to the cool air. Harry broke away from Cisco’s lips to place sloppy, warm kisses along his stomach. 

“Oh, my god, I’m way too ticklish for this, Harry.” Cisco said in between fits of uncontrolled laughter. He heard and felt Harry laugh against his skin. Harry came back up to place a kiss on Cisco’s nose before getting out of bed. 

“Come on, we’ve got to get to the lab.” Harry said, picking up his jeans from the floor and pulling them on. 

Cisco groaned, though he did enjoy the sight of Harry’s ass. “Do we have to? It’s such a nice day and this is such a nice bed, especially when you’re in it.” 

“Don’t tempt me, Cisco.” Harry joked. “You and I both know we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

“Can we be lazy together another day, then?” Cisco smiled innocently. 

Harry smiled back and sat back down next Cisco, moving a stray piece of hair off Cisco’s forehead. “Another day, then.” And if anyone in the lab noticed the tender looks and affectionate remarks shared between them, they didn’t make any comment. Well, except Barry, who screeched so loud when he caught Cisco and Harry holding hands that Cisco spilled his coffee all over himself. Cisco was totally going to remember that the next time Barry came in with a ruined suit. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> [Here is my tumblr](http://kitty-514.tumblr.com) if you want to chat with me about anything or want to look at a lot of pictures of plants


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